


A Blind Side

by nausicaa82



Series: Thundershield Prompts [11]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Football, Alternate Universe - High School, Bullying, Domestic, Family Angst, Family Dinners, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Odin's A+ Parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-24
Updated: 2014-05-29
Packaged: 2018-01-20 15:54:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1516376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nausicaa82/pseuds/nausicaa82
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From prompt: A high school football team au with Thor and Cap. (paraphrased)</p><p>Odin expected more from his eldest son, but he didn't even know the half of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“How was practice today, darling?” his mother asked, as she always did, at dinner. Thor beamed and put his silverware down, needing his hands to tell the story.

“Absolutely great! It was the best practice so far; I was—”

“Made quarterback?” his father interrupted, not looking up from cutting his steak. Thor immediately shrank back, and while he still smiled, his eyes were now sad.

“No, sir, but I—”

“Then it couldn’t have been that great, could it?” Odin looked his son in the eye as if it was a challenge.

“Dear,” his mother pleaded with a sigh.

“How is he supposed to gain the skills he needs to lead when he isn’t even the best of his little group?”

“This isn’t helpful,” her tone as grave and sharp as one of her kitchen knives.

“I like being left tackle, Father. I like protecting my,” he paused for a beat before continuing “teammates.”

“You mean your Steve,” Loki teased while spearing a piece of asparagus.

“Who’s this Steve?” Odin asked.

“He’s the quarterback and a wonderful boy. You would like him; you should come to the game next week and see how well he and Thor are together,” Frigga answered for Thor, giving him a knowing side look.

“Going out,” Odin chuckled and looked back to his dinner, “to see others’ sons get the glory while my own just pushes children to the ground like a brute?”

“That’s not what I DO AT ALL!” Thor’s scream filled the dining room. “I support them so they can make the plays. I protect Steve from getting sacked. I AM PART OF A TEAM!” 

“You will not sit here and yell at me like that. You are excused from dinner. LEAVE THE TABLE,” Odin commanded. Loki’s eyes were wide, but he continued to eat as if he was watching a show.

“Everyone, let’s just take a breath and calm ourselves!” Frigga tried to reason, looking between her husband and eldest son. Both were breathing heavily and finally, Thor stood slowly, his food almost completely untouched, his chair hitting the rail on the wall. He gave a slight nod to his mother and brother, then addressed them.

“I am sorry to have disturbed your meal.” He turned and left without any acknowledgement to his father, grabbed his jacket, and went out into the crisp autumn evening. Clouds were moving in, blocking the last light of the sun setting. He walked along the lamp-lit road toward the school while pulling out his phone, dialing the numbers without a second thought.

“Babe, what’s wrong?” Steve answered after three rings, sounding a bit breathless as if he had been running.

“Why does something have to be wrong?”

“Why else would you call instead of texting?” Thor ignored the question and stopped walking.

“You wanna go out for dinner?”

“Oh,” there was relief and regret mixed in Steve’s voice. “I would love to, but I just started a pot of Hamburger Helper for myself. Ma’s working graveyard tonight.” Thor sighed, it wasn’t like he could expect his boyfriend to just be at his beck and call.

“Why don’t you come over instead of us going out? Tony loaned me _Pacific Rim_ , I was gonna watch it while eating.”

“Sure,” Thor smiled, already feeling better. “That sounds good; be there in five.” Thor picked up his pace, jogging towards the apartment building just beyond the horizon.


	2. Chapter 2

Within nine steps, the wind picked up and thunder rolled across the town. By the time Thor had gone a long block, the few small drops of rain had escalated into a downpour. He couldn’t go as fast without risking a slip and when he finally got to the Rogers’ door, he was completely drenched.

"Thor Odinson!" Steve admonished and pulled his sheepish looking boyfriend into the apartment by his arm. "Get in here, you’ll catch a cold!" Thor willing went as far as the entry tile before he resisted, worrying about making a mess.

"Lend me a towel?" Thor asked miserably, and Steve’s face melted into a sweet smile.

"Of course, be right back." Steve kissed his cheek then hurried to his room. Thor carefully removed his jacket and shoes to find that on his cold and numb feet his socks were soaked as well. The apartment had a warm glow and smelled of baked bread. Steve returned almost instantly, dabbing at the drops still on Thor’s face and neck before playfully toweling his hair.

"I brought you some clothes— shirt, my Superman pants, socks, one of my hoodies in case you are cold. I can turn the heat a bit higher." Thor shook his head, too aware that Steve and his mother kept the heater very low to save on the gas bill. "What ever possessed you to go swimming in this weather?" Steve teased and Thor squinted his eyes, slightly shaking his head. Thunder rumbled again outside, shaking the windows in the room.

"I did not go—"

"It was a joke." Steve gave his little half smile he reserved for only those he really cared about, those he wanted to make happy. "A dumb little joke that I guess isn’t that funny, so I’m not even sure if it could be called a joke. It’s for the dictionaries to decide, really, and who am I to dictate what they can and cannot dictate?" Thor finally chuckled at Steve’s rambling.

"Oh fuck, dinner!" Steve startled, remembering his previous task and made his way around the other side of the wall separating the entry from the small kitchen to the meat browning on the stove. Thor quickly peeled his wet jeans and shirt off, dried a bit more, and pulled on the borrowed outfit. As he joined Steve in the kitchen, he let go of the last lingering bits of anger he had from the fight with his father.

"You know what’d go great with this? Green beans! I think we have a couple of cans. I had wanted to save some this for Ma for when she gets home, but after today I feel like I could eat the whole pan by myself. She made some soda bread that—" Steve chattered on and reached for the cans from the cabinet, his sleeve shifting to reveal the blooming bruise from his elbow up his triceps.

"Hey, what happened here?" Thor asked while barely touching the spot. Steve flinched but immediately recovered with a casual shrug.

"Nothing big, Hodge clipped me when we were doing throwing drills, and I fell a little awkwardly." Steve’s voice faltered just a bit and Thor’s eyes immediately turned dark as his face became red.

"Tell me the truth, Steve."

"Fine," Steve huffed but looked down from Thor’s glare. "It wasn’t during practice. It was on the way home."

"That son-of-a-bitch!" Thor growled, looking as if he would murder the boy upon seeing him next.

"Thor," Steve pleaded, "come on, it’s Gilmore Hodge. He’s just sore over being second-string. It’s not that big of a deal."

"I don’t like people hurting you."

"It’s better this way." Steve kept his eyes on the pan as he added the box’s contents.

"What?"

"If he and the other guys—"

"Other guys?!"

"If I’m their focus, then they aren’t harassing the smaller guys like Clint and Tony. I can take it; I’m used to it."

Thor’s heart broke at Steve’s confession, and it took a moment for him to answer without the anger in his voice.

"You shouldn’t have to be used to it, Steve." The slightly smaller of the two didn’t respond but only opened a drawer to fish out a can opener.

"Will you open and drain these for me?" Steve asked, handing the tool to his boyfriend and desperate to change the subject. "I think we have some left over bacon grease from this morning I can use." Thor sighed, nodded his head, and complied, then slotted behind Steve at the stove. He rested his chin Steve’s shoulder and watched as he continued to stir their meal. The pan boiling and the rain pelting the window were the only sounds for a long while.


End file.
